Montefiore Sebag strana 2 z 4

'The black earth was already baking and the sun was just rising when they mounted their horses and rode across the grasslands towards the horizon on fire ...' Imprisoned in the Gulags for a crime he did not commit, Benya Golden joins a penal battalion made up of Cossacks and convicts to fight the Nazis. He enrols in the Russian cavalry, and on a hot summer day in July 1942, he and his band of brothers are sent on a desperate mission behind enemy lines. Switching between Benya's war in the grasslands of Southern Russia, and Stalin's plans in the Kremlin, between Benya's intense affair with an Italian nurse and a romance between Stalin's daughter and a journalist also on the Eastern Front, this is a sweeping story of passion, bravery and human survival where personal betrayal is a constant companion, and death just a heartbeat away. Praise for Red Sky at Noon 'The gripping final instalment of the Moscow Trilogy tells of a man wrongly imprisoned in the Gulags and his fight for redemption. Love in dark times, meticulously researched... In this searing tale of love and war, most moving is the redemptive relationship between a soldier and a nurse that blooms amid the brutality. An homage to the author's favourite Russian writers and the Western masterpieces of Larry McMurtry, Cormac McCarthy and Elmore Leonard, such influences pervade this atmospheric tale told in the author's distinct own voice.' - Observer 'Mythic and murderous violence in Russia...there are power-drunk Nazis and Soviet traitors, including a particularly memorable villain ...Written with brio & deep knowledge of its fascinating subject matter... a deeply satisfying pageturner.' - Book of the Month, The Times 'In this third volume of The Moscow Trilogy, the fate of combatants and civilians is often harsh. With his feel for vivid and immediate drama and impressive research, the author evokes the extreme turbulence and violence impacting on individuals. Writing with passion, Montefiore makes the point that, up against the huge forces of war, the struggle for personal resolution can be tragic - but never wasted.' - Daily Mail 'The final instalment of Montefiore's loosely connected Moscow Trilogy: amidst the killing and the chaos, a group of prisoners are offered a chance of redemption on a secret mission behind enemy lines on horseback. Montefiore has a keen sense of place and an eye of unexpected details. Switching between the frontline on the Russian steppes and Stalin in the Kremlin, this is an EXCITING FAST-PACED ADVENTURE AND A LAMENT FOR LOVE IN DARK AND BRUTAL TIMES.' - Mail on Sunday 'I devoured Red Sky at Noon. A heartstopping, heartbreaking, technicolour epic. A grand homage to the Russian masters Babel & Grossman, echoes of Hemingway & Dostoevsky, and a propulsive delight that is entirely Montefiore's own. Gripping storytelling allied with intimate, unsqueamish knowledge of Russian history - a special combination.' - AD Miller, author of Snowdrops

The Romanovs were the most successful dynasty of modern times, ruling a sixth of the world's surface. How did one family turn a war-ruined principality into the world's greatest empire? And how did they lose it all? This is the intimate story of twenty tsars and tsarinas, some touched by genius, some by madness, but all inspired by holy autocracy and imperial ambition. Montefiore's gripping chronicle reveals their secret world of unlimited power and ruthless empire-building, overshadowed by palace conspiracy, family rivalries, sexual decadence and wild extravagance, and peopled by a cast of adventurers, courtesans, revolutionaries and poets, from Ivan the Terrible to Tolstoy, from Queen Victoria to Lenin. To rule Russia was both imperial-sacred mission and poisoned chalice: six tsars were murdered and all the Romanovs lived under constant threat to their lives. Peter the Great tortured his own son to death while making Russia an empire, and dominated his court with a dining club notable for compulsory drunkenness, naked dwarfs and fancy dress. Catherine the Great overthrew her own husband - who was murdered soon afterwards - loved her young male favourites, conquered Ukraine and fascinated Europe. Paul was strangled by courtiers backed by his own son, Alexander I, who faced Napoleon's invasion and the burning of Moscow, then went on to take Paris. Alexander II liberated the serfs, survived five assassination attempts, and wrote perhaps the most explicit love letters ever written by a ruler. THE ROMANOVS climaxes with a fresh, unforgettable portrayal of Nicholas and Alexandra, the rise and murder of Rasputin, war and revolution - and the harrowing massacre of the entire family. Written with dazzling literary flair, drawing on new archival research, THE ROMANOVS is at once an enthralling story of triumph and tragedy, love and death, a universal study of power, and an essential portrait of the empire that still defines Russia today.

'One of the great love stories of history, in a league with Napoleon and Josephine, and Antony and Cleopatra ...Excellent, with dazzling mastery of detail and literary flair' Economist It was history's most successful political partnership - as sensual and fiery as it was creative and visionary. Catherine the Great was a woman of notorious passion and imperial ambition. Prince Potemkin - wildly flamboyant and sublimely talented - was the love of her life and her co-ruler. Together they seized Ukraine and Crimea, defining the Russian empire to this day. Their affair was so tumultuous that they negotiated an arrangement to share power, leaving Potemkin free to love his beautiful nieces, and Catherine her young male favourites. But these 'twin souls' never stopped loving each other. Drawing on their intimate letters and vast research, Simon Sebag Montefiore's enthralling, widely acclaimed biography restores these imperial partners to their rightful place as titans of their age.

Ki a gonosz? -Hogyan ismerhető fel? -Tanulhatunk belőle? A "Fekete bárányok" a történelem bűneinek feltérképezése, az emberi gonoszság krónikája, továbbá három évezrednyi lecke jóról és rosszról. A sikeres történész, Simon Sebag Montefiore könyvében a történelem leggonoszabb férfiait és nőit gyűjtötte össze:# -Zsarnokok és császárnék -Hódítók és kannibálok -Szajhák és megalomániások -Kínzók és sorozatgyilkosok -Csábítók és árulók Attilától Adolf Hitlerig, Lucrecia Borgiától Rettegett Ivánig, Sztálintól Szaddám Huszeinig, Mao Ce-tungtól Charles Mansonig... a "Fekete bárányok" lebilincselően olvasmányos és tanulságos útmutató az emberi gonoszság legkirívóbb szélsőségeihez.

Dramatický, poutavý příběh o krásné ženě, žijící v předrevolučním Rusku a poté ve Stalinově sovětském pekle.

Čo je zlo? Aké môže mať podoby? Ktoré osobnosti sa do dejín zapísali ako najukrutnejšie a prečo?

Příběhy nejďábelštějších žen a mužů historie - portréty lidí, kteří poznamenali naši planetu krví - mapují odvrácenou tvář dějin. Najdeme tu životní osudy mimo jiné Jezábel, Heroda, Attily, anglického krále Richarda II., Alžběty Báthoryové, Pancho Villy, Rudolfa Hesse, Dr. Josepha Mengeleho i Saddáma Husajna... A mnoha dalších, bohužel. Příběhy jsou řazeny v časově posloupnosti a ten poslední patří Usámu bin Ládinovi. Kéž by byl opravdu poslední...!

Publikace 101 světových hrdinů je promyšleně sestavenou sbírkou příběhů a postav, které bychom měli všichni znát. Osobnosti, které byly do knihy zařazeny, spojují jejich hrdinské činy. Autor nepředpokládá, že čtenáři budou s jeho výběrem hrdinů souhlasit, ale doufá, že jim kniha přinese zábavu a poučení. Nezabývá se pouze známými historickými fakty, ale všímá si také povahových zvláštností jednotlivých osobností a upozorňuje na nečekané historické souvislosti. Pohlíží na hrdinství neotřelým způsobem, neboť za hrdiny považuje především ty, kteří jsou ochotni přijímat rizika nejen kvůli vlastní slávě, ale třeba proto, aby chránili slabší.

The Romanovs were the most successful dynasty of modern times, ruling a sixth of the world's surface. How did one family turn a war-ruined principality into the world's greatest empire? And how did they lose it all? This is the intimate story of twenty tsars and tsarinas, some touched by genius, some by madness, but all inspired by holy autocracy and imperial ambition. Montefiore's gripping chronicle reveals their secret world of unlimited power and ruthless empire-building, overshadowed by palace conspiracy, family rivalries, sexual decadence and wild extravagance, and peopled by a cast of adventurers, courtesans, revolutionaries and poets. Written with dazzling literary flair, drawing on new archival research, THE ROMANOVS is at once an enthralling chronicle of triumph and tragedy, love and death, a universal study of power, and an essential portrait of the empire that still defines Russia today.